Month: August 2010

George Washington once wrote that “it’s better to offer no excuse than a bad one.” In the next month or so, we’ll learn whether the Warriors new owners intend to retain Don Nelson, Larry Riley and Robert Rowell or make a clean break with the Cohan past. Replacing them all — even on the eve of the season — would be by far the easiest decision to explain given the trio’s recent record of failure. Deciding to keep one, two or (inconceivably) all three will require more than a little explaining. If Lacob and company go down that path, we’ll soon know whether we’re in for another Warriors season filled with bad excuses.

We’re still stuck in the painfully slow days of August when it comes to NBA basketball, but help is on the way from abroad. Sunday saw the Spanish national team take the US to the verge defeat in international exhibition play. Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose came up big in the final seconds of the hard fought match, but Team USA still looks like it has a long way to go before the real competition starts at the end of the month. Although Stephen Curry managed a fair amount of time on the court again Spain, it remains to be seen whether he’ll be catching the team flight to the real competition in Greece.

On Tuesday morning Joe Lacob sat down with Tim Kawakami for his most extensive interview since the initial post-sale publicity blitz. The glow of a post-Cohan future has dimmed a bit as reality has set in — and Tim’s questions were noticeably tougher than those Lacob fielded last month. Lacob’s comments suggest that he’s identified the team’s fundamental problems. Only time will tell whether he’s also found answers.

Early August tends to be the slowest of slow periods for NBA news — and this year has lived up to the reputation. By any scale that matters, the departure of assistant coach Scott Roth for Toronto and D-League success story Anthony Tolliver for Minnesota are not changes of any particular note. In this summer of speculation, however, there are some conclusions that can be teased out of both moves.

On August 9, Stephen Curry will join 14 other NBA players in New York City for the US National Team’s final training session. Given the Warriors’ injury luck the past few years, I’ll consider Curry’s late-August and early-September run with Team USA a success so long as he makes it back for training camp in one piece. Paranoid fears aside, however, Curry’s selection for the final 15 is a significant individual honor. The good news for Curry is also good news for the Warriors.